The impacts of change in forage quality and seasonality on sheep farm profitability

Abstract

benefits of altering the quality and seasonality of pasture supply in sheep farming enterprises. Three representative regions in New Zealand were studied; winter-cold and summer-wet (e.g., Southland, Otago and Central North Island); winter-cold, summer-dry (e.g., South Island East Coast); and winter-warm, summer-dry (e.g., North Island East Coast). Two different lamb-finishing enterprises were also analysed within each region; a conventional system where the lamb supply pattern was aligned with feed availability, and a supply contract system where more lambs were supplied for processing outside the normal season. Improving the seasonality of feed supply increased gross margins by $26 to $126 per hectare depending on the region. The greatest gains from improved seasonality occurred in the winter-cold scenarios. Improving forage quality had a more positive impact than improved seasonality changes with gross margins increasing by $53 to $148 per hectare depending on region. Overall the impact of the forage supply and forage quality changes was similar for the two lamb-finishing systems. Keywords: lamb-finishing, pasture production, pasture quality, systems analysis